The End of The Sunday "What I've Been Listening To" Posts

Over the last 6 months I've kept almost all my writings about podcasts confined to a weekly Sunday post. Part of the reason is that I was afraid of turning The Nosy Gamer into a blog about podcasts instead of a blog about MMORPGs. But another thing that I wanted to avoid was turning the blog into a job. That blog-as-job feeling turned me away from blogging a few years ago, and writing the Sunday podcast post was starting to feel like a job and not like fun.

Instead of just giving a brief summary of the podcasts, I'd like to start referring to what podcasters are saying. For example, The Instance #158 offered a couple of items I could have written about. Scott and Randy discussed the speculation over Cataclysm, the next World of Warcraft expansion which has largely turned out to be true. I could have written about how some changes were inspired by SOE games (EverQuest has a level cap of 85 and EverQuest 2 already has guild progression) and how World of Warcraft seems to slowly be making its way to becoming World of EverQuest 2: Cataclysm.

Another subject ripe for a post is some advice that Randy and Scott gave to a listener who's parents let him play WoW up to level 70 but then did not let him continue on with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Here is a comment from the show notes from a poster named ohcray that I fully agree with.

"Just wanted to express my appreciation and say a big THANK YOU for the great response to the kid whose parents wouldn’t allow him to play WOW. The advice you gave was objective, wise, and respectful. As a parent, I love that Randy acknowledged that if the parents have made a rule, for whatever reason, then sorry – that’s just the way it is. But Scott was dead on in encouraging more open rational dialogue and understanding between the parents and their kid. It would’ve been easy to urge him to buck the system, sneak in a game or two when the parents are away, plead and kick and scream till you get your way, etc. It also would’ve been easy to accuse the parents of being uptight right-wing fundamentalists that just need to be more open-minded. Instead, you gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, and in the end, respected the integrity of family, authority, and intelligent communication. You have my respect. THANKS!"

Giving the subject some thought I remembered a controversy that may have influenced the young man's parents when WotLK first came out. Anyone remember what Richard Bartle wrote about the torture in the shadowknight quest line? Here is an excerpt from another post in which Dr. Bartle respondend to some of the criticism of his first post.

"What's vaguely dispiriting about this is that I was basically making an obscure design point. I wasn't making a moral point — I'd have blogged on Terra Nova for that. I was saying:

1. Giving people a quest to torture someone for no good reason is going to shock some people; not everyone, but a good number.
2. Shocking people in a work of art such as an MMO is fine, you're allowed to do it. It's making an artistic statement.
3. If you do decide to shock people, you need to flag up that you know you're shocking them. This is so they know it's an artistic statement and not that you think the shocking thing isn't shocking.
4. Blizzard didn't flag up that they knew they were doing something that would shock people. The prisoner gave good information, your reputation with the Kirin Tor rose, and you got to continue with the quest chain.
5. This gives the impression that Blizzard thinks it's OK to torture prisoners, and that torture actually works.
6. It also means the shock remains. People who thought they were playing a game with cartoon-level violence and evil in context now find they bought into the wrong fiction. This is not what WoW is about any more. (emphasis mine)
   

It's this last point — the breaking of the covenant between designer and player — that I was raising. Either Blizzard didn't know torture would be problematical for some people, or they did know but didn't acknowledge it. Neither of these is satisfactory."

I think if the young player's parents were looking at information like this then I think it is perfectly reasonable for parents to change their minds about the appropriateness of a game. As a society, we do want parents more involved in what their children are doing, right? I think most people will want parents to do research into games and not just listen to a nut-job like Jack Thompson.

To tell the truth, putting together this post and just taking a brief look at The Instance #158 has been a lot more fun to do than just putting out lists of reviews. So I'm going to be a bit selfish and stop doing a weekly podcast review. Given that listening to podcasts is a big part of my MMORPG gaming life, I'll still reference podcasts a lot. I'll just be doing it a different way.

What I've Been Listening To: August 9-15, 2009

This is a vacation edition of the weekly review. I should say "staycation" as I just stayed at home and started to learn to play Eve Online. I discovered that learning Eve requires a bit of attention so I didn't listen to very many podcasts. But I was still able to find three highlights that I think people may be interested in.

Highlights

Goodbye Matrix Online. SOE finally closed down The Matrix Online August 1st and on Massively Speaking #63 Colin Brennan talked about his experiences in the game. While I never played MxO even though I have SOE's Station Pass, the closing of a game should never go unnoticed and Colin does a good job of pointing out the positives and negatives of the game.

Part 1 of the Scott Hartsman interview on No Prisoners, No Mercy #41. The sisters scored another big interview, this time with the former producer of both EverQuest and EverQuest 2, Scott Hartsman. One of the topics in part 1 of the 2 part interview is Scott's views on emergent and degenerate game play in MMOs. The example Scott uses in the interview, broker speculation, is a hot topic in my guild as we have a player on our server who fits the description.

Leala goes wild over Second Skin. If you want to hear an entertaining rant over Second Skin, the documentary look at MMO gamers, listen to Spouse Aggro #85. Leala usually comes across as the rational member of the Turkey family, but in this episode the roles are reversed.

General Gaming

No Prisoners, No Mercy #41 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - In addition to the Scott Hartsman interview (see above), the sisters also talked with Total Biscuit from WoW Radio. For those who would like to hear more from Scott Hartsman, he was interviewed on Massively Speaking #13. Length: 88 minutes.

Massively Speaking #63 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - Massively.com bloggers Colin Brennan and Kyle Horner joined the boss to discuss the latest on Champions Online and the closing of The Matrix Online. A nice little discussion about being fanbois started off the podcast. Length: 68 minutes.

Massively Speaking #64 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - Shawn's guests were Spouse Aggro co-hosts Beau and Leala Turkey who discussed the movie Second Skin, the rumored launch date for the new Star Wars MMO and the departure of Jeff Strain and David Reid from NCSoft. Length: 61 minutes.

Spouse Aggro #85 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - Leala goes on a rant about Second Skin and Beau tries his hand at being the calm and rational member of the family. Given the nature of the movie and the quality of the rant, I highly recommend this episode. Length: 53 minutes.

Van Hemlock #63 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - As much as I love this podcast, I couldn't listen to this episode. Literally. The pair attempted to do a podcast from a moving vehicle and I couldn't really hear them while the car was moving. I gave up trying. Length: 67 minutes.

Game Specific Podcasts

EQ2

EQ2's-day broadcast on July 28, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - The pair discussed the Tinkerfest live event and where to go for easy raiding. Dellmon does a bit of roleplay as he tries to play a calm and level-headed podcaster while Zanadi rants about doing the Cloak of the Harvester quests. Length: 77 minutes.

Eve Online

PODDED podcast Season 2, Episode 14 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - The pair discussed the new copyrighted logo "Dust 514" and interceptor scouting. Storytime with Dillon made another appearance as Dillon discussed a recent battle that resulted in the loss of over 100 capital ships. Length: 96 minutes.

World of Warcraft

The Instance #157 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan) - The hosts gave a long review of the new 3.2 patch, the pet choices of hunters and the effect of allowing players to have toons in both factions on PvP servers. Length: 113 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: August 2-8, 2009

Just a quick note about the format for these posts before I tell you all about the podcast goodness I listened to last week. I'm going to add a section called "Highlights" to point out the things I found profound or amusing during the last week. I didn't listen to any new podcasts last week so the full format is yet to come.

Here's what I listened to last week.

Highlights

Part 3 of the Paul Barnett interview on No Prisoners, No Mercy #40. Okay, this one is an obvious choice, but this was my favorite segment of the interview Sister Julie and Sister Fran did with Paul Barnett. Love him or hate him, Paul is a very interesting man and I think it came out more in this segment. If the sisters were hoping to save the best of the interview for last, they succeeded.

Not because they are easy, but because they are hard. On the EQ2's-day show on July 22nd, two days after the 40th anniversary of man first landing on the moon, Dellmon used this quote from John F. Kennedy's famous moon speech to lead into a discussion of the nerfing of Venril Sathir, one of the tougher boss fights in EverQuest 2. While the specifics of the argument pertain to EQ2, I have listened to or read about the same issues in other games, particularly World of Warcraft. The discussion between the raider Dellmon and Zanadi, the non-raiding role-player, gave voice to the points of view of both sides of the argument about making content more accessible to the player base. One of the better discussions on the topic that I've heard and thus something that maybe non-EQ2 players might enjoy listening to.

Fly Reckless and Podded aren't such a bad combination after all. Flying reckless will get you podded in Eve Online, which is a bad thing. The combination of Atraxerxes from Fly Reckless and the Podded Podcast's Dillon Arklight and War Childe for a two hour show was, to use a technical term, a good thing. Besides being a good podcast, the joint venture is making my highlights because it helped finalize some things in my mind about how I wanted to enter Eve when I started playing the free trial yesterday. Influence = highlight.

Camp New Eden? Continuing the Eve theme, I thought the intro to Warp Drive Active #49 pretty funny. The intro was based on the old Alan Sherman Grammy-award winning song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp)". Yes, it's Eve specific, but I've heard similar complaints in any game I've played for any length of time. And do the Gallente really whine that much?

General Gaming

No Prisoners, No Mercy #40 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - Although nominally a Warhammer Online podcast, the sister's gaming interests rate putting NPNM in the general category. In addition to the Paul Barnett interview, the sister's talked with Keen from Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog about writing and add their two cents to the controversy over the Dante's Inferno booth babe contest at the San Diego Comi-Con. Length: 85 minutes.

Channel Massive #99 (Hosts: Noah, Mark, and Jason) - The Channel Massive podcast is always defined by Blog-O-Steria, although for me the Week In Gaming segment is a can't miss reason for listening to the podcast. This episode's Blog-O-Steria concerned the booth babe contest and gave another look at the controversy. Listening to both No Prisoner, No Mercy #40 & Channel Massive #99 will give both sides of the issue. But does the Dante's Inferno team represent a third side? Length: 110 minutes.

Through The Aftermath #14 (Hosts: Shawn Schuster and Jonathan Morris) - Today is the 44th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, so I thought today would be a good day to review this episode of TTAM, since episode 14 looked at the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Anyone looking for a scholarly look at the events will be disappointed, but I think the look into the events that basically created the post-apocolyptic genre from the eyes of two podcasters immersed in that world was enlightening. Length: 69 minutes.

Game Specific Podcasts

EQ2:

EQ2's-day OGR Broadcast on July 22, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - In addition to the discussion about the nerfing of Venril Sathir (see Highlights section), the hosts continued the "Dwarf on the Moon" theme by talking about the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon and the monthly moonlight enchantment events. Length: 72 minutes.

Eve Online:

Podded Podcast #13/Fly Reckless #35 (Hosts: Atraxerxes, Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - If you have read the highlights section, you know I liked this podcast. A good discussion of faction warfare, the Eve University move to Minmatar space, dev blogs and the best and worst changes to the game ensued. Also the team made first mention of 6 motherships being destroyed in an action, but didn't have many details. Oh, and of course, stealth bombers. Length: 142 minutes.

Warp Drive Active #49 (Hosts: Urban Mongral and Winterbeak) - Oh my, podcasts only a week apart! Seriously though, in addition to a hilarious opening, Urban and Winterbeak finished the story about the destruction of the 6 motherships that Atraxerxes, Dillon Arklight and War Childe began. The hosts have been accused of not having all the facts, so they have solicited listener content and have been taken up on the subject. Krutoj gives an update on the eastern regions of New Eden while LaVista Vista gave an economics update. Plus fail mail! Length: 113 minutes.

Free Realms:

RealmsCast #3 (Host: Beau Turkey) - In addition to giving a good account of changes in racing in Free Realms (which is also mentioned favorably in Channel Massive #99), Beau scored an interview with SOE's Mark Tuttle, the global brand manager not only for the Free Realms TCG but all of SOE's TCGs. Length: 35 minutes.

World of Warcraft:

The Instance #156 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan) - The podcast once again shines as Scott and Randy brought in Mean Gene as the talk on the first part of the episode focused on PvP. I also liked the discussion about what to do when a player is going to leave WoW and plays an integral part of his/her guild's leadership. Length: 110 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: July 26 - August 1, 2009

As I was writing this post, I realized I forgot to listen to Through The Aftermath #14 last week. I really wanted to do a review of the podcast this week due to the subject of the podcast; the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. It was 64 years ago this week that nuclear devastation was unleashed against an enemy for the first (and so far only) time. I've downloaded the podcast and will listen to it as soon as I finish with this entry.

First Time "Listen"

EQIQ #11 (Host: Dave) - Episode 11 is not the first EQIQ episode that I've listened to, but this is the first time I'm listing the podcast on the blog. EQIQ is the companion podcast for EQ2 Guides, which is a very good resource for EverQuest 2 players. EQIQ is one of the few single host podcasts I listen to, and like the others concentrates on providing information. But the podcasts are full of information.

Episode 11 is about the Gods of EverQuest 2. Dave gives a high-level overview of the deities and some important information. As is usual when listening to EQIQ, I learn something. In this podcast I learned where to buy the recipes to make the better crafted altars, which is now important to me as my carpenter is now approaching level 60 and I'm thinking of leveling up a priest and a druid who I would want to follow a god.

If you are an EverQuest 2 player, I highly recommend listening to EQIQ. The release schedule is a little spotty, but since this is an information podcast and not a news podcast, I think that is fine. In fact the only thing I wish Dave would stop doing is apologize for the irregular schedule. With 11 shows posted over at Virgin Worlds, we have a lot of information to listen to and digest. Length: 84 minutes.

Old Friends

Shut Up We're Talking #52 (Hosts: Darren and Karen) - Darren and Karen were joined by Bill from Inner Sanctum of the Ninveh and Andrew from Of Teeth and Claws to discuss the use of external information (aka cheat) sites and travel in MMOs. I think Bill hit the cheating subject out of the park and path the discussion took afterward was very interesting.

The hosts also announced a summertime hiatus as they go on vacations. Length: 64 minutes.

Van Hemlock #62 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - In addition to the week's news, the hosts
introduce the second Operation Cheapseats format podcast. Tim played Granado Espada, a game based on New World exploration while Jon played Runes of Magic. While Tim gave a rather positive review of his game, Jon had a similar reaction to Runes of Magic to the one I developed once I got my character up to level 15 scout/15 rouge. His reaction was more entertaining than mine. Length: 101 minutes.

The Instance #155 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan) - Oh my gosh, I loved the intro skit! The discussion about the upcoming World of Warcraft movie was priceless. The discussion ranging from the WoWHead premium service to doctors entering WoW in last ditch attempts to save children from game addiction made this one of the better shows I've listened to in awhile. I also listened to episode #154 last week, but if you only have time to listen to one show, choose this episode. Length: 114 minutes.

Channel Massive #98 (Hosts: Noah, Mark, and Jason) This episode has a Blog-O-Steria based on EverQuest 2. I referred to it once, but basically a World of Warcraft player decided that the problem with EverQuest 2 is that EQ2 is not WoW. Okay, you can listen to the rest of the podcast too; I hope my EQ2 bias doesn't show too badly.

Free To Play Podcast #21.5 (Host: Riknas) - Riknas did a solo podcast covering the F2P news and what he calls "transferal" issues. An interesting listen. For those expecting a F2P game review, you won't hear one on this show (hence the .5). Length: 24 minutes.

Warp Drive Active #48 (Hosts: Urban Mongral and Winterbeak) - Join the two hungover hosts as they stumble through the universe of New Eden with a lot of detours. I enjoyed the banter between Urban and Winterbeak as they discussed everything from movies to Goonswarm declaring they are going to take back their heritage. And of course, fail mails! Length: 96 minutes.

PODDED Podcast Season 2 Episode 12 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - What is it about Eve podcasters and alcohol? In addition to the normal talk about news and dev blogs, Dillon and War Childe talked about Interdictors and the upcoming changes in faction warfare and the tutorial. As I was listening to the podcast, I was really getting the feeling I need to join the game fast. Although do I wait for the new tutorial or hurry up and take the current one? Length: 69 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: July 19-25, 2009

Another week, another set of podcasts, although I'm beginning to fall behind again. For those wondering why I haven't listened to Through The Aftermath, I'm saving listening to episode 13 this week because I want the review posted next week. Those into World War 2 history might understand why.

Here is what I listened to last week.

First Time Listen

RealmsCast Episodes 1 & 2 (Host: Beau Turkey) - Veteran podcaster Beau Turkey has created a podcast focused on Sony Online Entertainment's new free-to-play game FreeRealms. The first thing people may ask is: "Beau Turkey covering a kids' game?" The perhaps surprising thing is that the combination works, at least for the first two episodes.

RealmsCast is targeted to kids, from everything from the introduction to Beau's explanations of MMO terms that are known by veteran gamers but would be new for the first time game players entering FreeRealms. In an echo of his old-school attitude toward playing MMOs, he does encourage players to explore and find things for themselves first and gives warnings before giving out spoilers for those who couldn't finish a quest. But Beau is giving out the spoilers, probably knowing that sometimes kids just need some help getting past a rough spot.

With an old time children's show format, a short length (episode 1 ran 15 minutes and episode 2 was 26) and an associated web site that is informative and well put together, I encourage all people playing FreeRealms to sample Beau's new project. Length: under 30 minutes.

Old Friends

No Prisoners, No Mercy #39 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - In episode 39, the sisters turn the podcast back to its early days and Warhammer Online roots. In addition to the second part of the Paul Barnett interview, Sister Julie faces off with Saylah of Mystic Worlds for a lengthy discussion about the state of WAR today with Sister Fran somewhat moderating. Once again an excellent podcast. Length: 102 minutes.

Van Hemlock #60 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - This episode is the premier of the broadcast version of Operation Cheapseats. In Operation Cheapseats, Tim & Jon play either a free trial or a free-to-play game for two weeks and report back on them. In addition to the pair's usual news and Jon's hiarious reaction to the latest happenings at Sony, Jon gave his two week review of the original Jumpgate and Tim played Rappelz. Van Hemlock's take on the podcast is here. Length: 91 minutes.

Van Hemlock #61 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - In response to No Prisoners, No Mercy's three part interview with Paul Barnett, the hosts invited their own industry professional, Massively.com's Managing Editor (and Massively Speaking and Through The Aftermath podcaster) Shawn Schuster for an hour of conversation about the news and the games they've been playing. Length: 68 minutes.

Channel Massive #97 (Hosts: Noah, Mark, and Jason) - Noah and Mark were Jason-less once again as they took a look at the news and more Brad-O-Steria. Length: 78 minutes.

PODDED Podcast Season 2 Episode 11 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - The Eve Online podcast took a look null sec news, dev blogs & CCP announcements and exploration. Length: 92 minutes.

Spouse Aggro #83 (Beau and Leala Turkey) - To anyone who read the show notes checking Beau out before listening to Realmscast, let me assure you that Beau did not shoot his dog. But Beau's view on things is a little bit out on the edge, so if you listen to Realmscast, don't be shocked when you hear a more adult-oriented podcast. In this episode the Turkeys ate at home and discussed some guild drama in Leala's The Epic Dolls guild in the World of Warcraft. Length: 32 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: July 12-18, 2009

I had a busy week at work, which forced me into choosing between adventuring and crafting in EverQuest 2 all week. After all, when you only have 60-90 minutes to play each night I can't do both. With the expansion set for a February release date, I'm feeling no pressure to get those last 10 AA points so I chose to work on my crafting. And for me, crafting means ... listening to podcasts! And I had a lot of podcast goodness to listen to over the past week, which is something to say since I didn't get to listen to a new Van Hemlock podcast.

What could fill such a huge hole in my podcast listening schedule? Check out the podcasts below:

First Time Listen

Warp Drive Active #47 (Hosts: Urban Mongral and Winterbeak) - In my ever increasing fascination with Eve Online, I was pleased to see a new Warp Drive Active appear on the Virgin Worlds home page. As happened with The Drone Bay, Urban Mongral and Winterbeak are having to start up the podcast again and are a little out of touch with the news. But I liked the chemistry between the two and if work will allow them to coordinate their schedules (Winterbeak is Canadian while Urban Mongral lives in the U.K.) I'll be interested in listening to their commentary on Eve on future podcasts. Length: 139 minutes.

Old Friends

Shut Up We're Talking #51 (Hosts: Darren and Karen) - In episode 51, Darren and Karen are joined by long-time guest Jon the Ancient Gaming Noob and two first time guests, Andrew from Of Teeth and Claws and Frank from MMORPG.com. In addition to the usual news and "What we're playing" segments, the panel has very good discussions on white collar crime in MMOs (mainly Eve) and a discussion on real money transactions and microtransactions. Length: 78 minutes.

No Prisoners, No Mercy #38 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - While this episode has the usual news and "Mad As Hell" segments, the highlight of the podcast is not the Aion beta discussion. No, the highlight is the broadcast of the sisters' interview with EA/Mythic and Warhammer Online pitch man Paul Barnett. The interview is broken up into 3 parts with this segment focusing on Warhammer. The sisters basically asked a couple of questions and let Paul take it from there. The world according to Paul is a fascinating listen and I can't wait for the next two installments of No Prisoners, No Mercy. Length: 98 minutes.

Massively Speaking #61 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - Shawn is joined by Spouse Aggro co-host Beau Turkey in a discussion ranging from what they don't like about MMOs to Warhammer Online's new server consolidation, improvements in Age of Conan and emergent gameplay being tried in Heroes of Telara. The pair also spend some time discussing Beau's new project RealmsCast, a Free Realms podcast. Once again, Shawn has put together a very interesting podcast. Length: 61 minutes.

Channel Massive #95 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - I started the week listening to episode #95 and failed to take notes about the podcast. However, I do remember that they talked about the People's Republic of China "banning gold farming" and handed out some good advice:

• Never fight a land-war in South-East Asia
• Don't fight a war against the Russians in the winter
• Never bring a knife to a gunfight
• Don't get into a deal with a company as big as Microsoft without a written contract

Brad McQuaid. The gift to continuing podcast goodness on the Channel Massive podcast. Length: 80 minutes.

Channel Massive #96 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - The M Team was able to overcome Jason's abandonment of chicken wings to produce an episode that had me crying from laughing so much. The hosts served up appetizers with the news like World of Warcraft's patch 3.2, the Mythic/Bioware reorganization, Google's Chrome OS and introducing Twitter to games before serving up a main course of Blog-O-Steria. This week's special was Twixt, the sad little character created by a sad little professor at Loyola University who exploited a weakness in City of Heroes/Villians PvP play in the name of "research". I liked the M Team's analysis, both for the logic and the comedy. Length: 100 minutes.

PODDED Podcast Season 2, Episode 10 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - The hosts celebrated episode 10 with a 140 minute broadcast chock full of special content. Interviews with Aegis Militia leader Soratah and Tech 3 expert Paul Darth highlighted a show with lots of news, dev postings, 0.0 space discussion and, of course, stealth bombers. Length: 140 minutes.

The Instance #153 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - The highlights of the podcast for me were the discussion of those parts of the World of Warcraft that are unused, unnecessary and inefficient and the "Ask Buxley" segment concerning murlocs. After listening to that segment, many things became clear.

And despite the short description I gave this episode, I just have to add that if you play World of Warcraft and are not listening to The Instance, there's something wrong with you. Length: 114 minutes.

A Pleasant Surprise

EQ2's-day Broadcast on July 14, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - Dellmon posted last Tuesday's show in record time, possibly to give everyone a chance to participate in the contest to guess which zone Dellmon will get his 200th AA point in. All entries should be emailed to Zanadi at Zanadi@eq2sday.com with the subject "What zone will Del be in". The show itself explored Dellmon and Zanadi's experiences at this year's Fan Faire. Length: 91 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: July 5-11, 2009

This is the week I figured out that if I'm going to play a computer-role playing game, the game really needs to have the "MMO" in front of "RPG". Maybe from the outside looking in that's obvious. After all, my favorite game is EverQuest 2 and I write a weekly post on the MMORPG-based podcasts I listen to every week. What really brought this to my attention is when I started to try to analyze the economic system in Fallout 3. The game play, while quite good, just doesn't engage me like the game play in EQ2 does and I think the difference lies in economics.

I think I am at a point where combat is not the primary thing driving my play. In EQ2, I have a small army of crafting alts that are almost all involved with tier 8 tradeskilling. Eve Online is so appealing from the outside because a player can concentrate on industry instead of combat. If I play another game outside of the MMORPG genre, I think it will be a game like Europa Universalis III. Not only is it a game conducted at the grand strategic level, but it would allow me to play Sweden's Vasa dynasty, a subject I've become interested in after reading Eric Flint's 1632 universe novels.

Enough about why I'm giving up on Fallout 3 while so many of the podcasters I listen to love the game. Here is what I listened to last week.

Goodbye!

Epic Dolls #69 (Hosts: Leala Turkey and Katerina) - Leala and Kat were joined by Stardancer as this episode marks the end of the Epic Dolls podcast. I basically only listened to 2 World of Warcraft podcasts, The Instance and Epic Dolls. While I'll still get to listen to Leala on Spouse Aggro, the passing of the Epic Dolls podcast leaves me a bit sad. I'll just wish good luck to everyone involved with the Epic Dolls podcast and hope that we'll see everyone involved with future projects. Length: 44 minutes.

Sticking Around

Massively Speaking #59 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - In episode 59 Shawn was joined by Massively.com bloggers Colin Brennan and Kyle Horner. The news covered included government actions by the People's Republic of China and Australia as it related to MMO's, beta information concerning Global Agenda and Champions Online, SOE's Community Address at Fan Faire and Mark Jacobs departure from Mythic. Length: 64 minutes.

Van Hemlock #59 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - Tim and Jon, Massively.com bloggers themselves, present the news with Jon remembering to watch his language when talking about Sony. This episode was a "what are we playing" show with the hosts opening up Twitter to allow listeners to ask questions. A very brave decision by Tim. Length: 83 minutes.

Free To Play Podcast #21 (Hosts: Riknas and Andras) - The hosts are joined by Jonathan Morris of Through the Aftermath as they look at the F2P news and review Anarchy Online. Length: 73 minutes.

No Prisoners, No Mercy #37 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - In this episode the sisters were joined by Tipa from West Karana and Saylah from Mystic Worlds for a far ranging discussion from everything from games to what they choose to write about on their blogs.

Add in the discussion on Warhammer Online's Land of the Dead and the fact that with all the numbers the sisters threw out about which episode this was, they never mentioned "37" once, and the podcast was an enjoyable listen to on my train ride to and from work. Length: 86 minutes.

The Instance #152 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Delux) - Scott and Randy discuss Blizzard's announcement that World of Warcraft players may get to change faction between Alliance and Horde as well as races. Other topice included what Cataclysm may be, 2-toon arena teams making a comeback and changes in Engineering. And as always, don't forget to listen to all the contributors like Mean Gene, Patrick and Buxley who help make The Instance a special broadcast. Length: 91 minutes.

Evolving?

Spouse Aggro #82 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - The Turkeys experimented with a live audience and a web cam in this episode in which they looked back at 10 years of gaming. The story about their wedding was nice too. The technical difficulties were left in, making this a podcast not unlike the ones I listen to from Online Gaming Radio.

Beau also announced that he is going to start a Free Realms podcast while keeping Spouse Aggro up and running. That I have to hear. Length: 44 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: June 28 - July 4, 2009

The evil influence of the Through the Aftermath podcast finally took effect as I have not only started playing Fallout 3 but watch the 1984 British docu-drama Threads this weekend. I'll call it an evil influence because I forgot to search out a new podcast to listen to. But in truth, I can't lay the blame solely at Shawn & Jonathan's feet. Despite listening to ten (!) podcasts this week, I didn't get a chance to listen to some of my favorites, like No Prisoners, No Mercy, Epic Dolls, or Massively Speaking. So many podcasts, so little time!

Here is what I listened to last week.

Old Friends

Virgin Worlds #146 (Host: Brent Darren) - Darren once again fills in for Brent to give us the week's MMO news. The topics included "The Great Firewall of Australia" (not Darren's words, btw), Dungeons & Dragons Online changes (and not just the fact the title is going to become free-to-play), Age of Conan's 1.5 update, Mark Jacob leaving Mythic and the joining of EA's studios Bioware and Mythic, patch notes for Eve Online's update 1.3, Fallen Earth & Runes of Magic. Length: 26 minutes.

Van Hemlock #58 (Hosts: Tim Dale & Jon Shute) - In addition to the usual look at the news, Tim & Jon took a stroll down memory lane with the Twitter question "What old and busted gaming classics would you want to see revived and playable?" The hosts also announced a format change. The topic show format will be scrapped and in its place Tim & Jon will bring Van Hemlock's Operation Cheapseats to the podcast every other week. For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here. Length: 72 minutes.

Shut Up We're Talking #50 (Hosts: Darren & Karen) - The guest hosts for show 50 were Brent from Virgin Worlds, Michael Zenke from SOE's DC Universe Online, Jonathan Morris from Through the Aftermath and John the Ancient Gaming Noob. The all-star cast produced a great show talking about Brad McQuaid, Mark Jacobs and the whole EA/Mythic/Bioware restructuring, and the effect of micro-transactions on real money transaction services. The show also featured a world-class rant by Jonathan and poetry from Karen. Length: 95 minutes.

The Instance #151 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan) - In this Randy tested, Scott approved show, the hosts took a long look at the release of patch 3.2 on the Public Test Realms as well as Ghostcrawler's post on death knights, PvP during the Midsummer Fire Festival and Gamer MusiCON 09. Length: 106 minutes.

Through The Aftermath #13 (Hosts: Shawn Schuester & Jonathan Morris) - In episode 13 Shawn and Jonathan discuss the news about Left 4 Dead 2, Fallout 3 and Fallen Earth as well as look at the 1984 British docu-drama Threads. Before listening to this episode, I suggest you go to the YouTube link in the show notes and watch Threads before listening to this podcast. Just a warning; the movie is a bit disturbing, but then again, so is the thought of living through a nuclear war. Length: 64 minutes.

Channel Massive #93 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - While Jason touts this episode in the show notes as being about Champions Online, console rumors and dirty old men, that's not the most memorable content for me. No, it's the reaction of the M Team in the Blog-O-Steria segment to the return of Brad McQuaid and how they have honored his near return to the world of MMORPGs. Length: 86 minutes.

Channel Massive #94 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - Mark took a performance enhancing substance called Game Fuel at the beginning of the podcast and it had a most amusing affect on him. The Blog-O-Steria segment concentrated on the departure of Mark Jacobs from Mythic and why Paul Barnett is still around. Length: 93 minutes.

Star Wars Galaxies With Yivvits and MrBubble #114 (Hosts: Yivvits & MrBubble) - The hosts talk about their plans for SOE's Fan Faire 2009 as well as more thoughts on how the server transfers were handled and a couple of other ideas for the game. I think Yivvits and MrBubble have some good points on the server transfers and hopefully SOE and other game studios will learn from the mistakes SOE made in SW:G. Length: 86 minutes.

PODDED Podcast Season 2 Episode 9 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - In this episode the hosts touch on some of the 0.0 warfare that Kirith's corp is involved in as well as player reaction to the first Council of Stellar Management Q&A session and how War Childe managed to aggro a whole alliance into spending the money for a war dec. Length: 73 minutes.

EQ2's-day Broadcast on June 16, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - I'm almost caught up with listening to all the shows I miss because I'm still on the train home when the show is broadcast live. In this episode Dellmon is almost over his addiction to Free Realms and he and Zan talk about GU 52, shinies, and the new books that turn players into authors. Length: 84 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: June 21-27, 2009

Once again big news came out of Las Vegas, this time because of SOE's Fan Faire 2009. But that news hasn't made the podcasts yet so that is something to look forward to over the next week or two. In the meantime there is a lot of podcast goodness out there. I'm behind in my podcast listening and I listened to 13 1/2 hours of podcasts last week.

If you are looking for a good place to start listening to podcasts about MMORPGs, head on over to the Virgin Worlds Podcast Collective. Brent has done a wonderful job of putting together a stable of podcasts that form up the bulk of the podcasts I listen to each week.

First Time Listen

The Drone Bay #22 (Hosts: Crovan, CrazyKinux & Alsedrech) - After a 7-8 month hiatus, The Drone Bay is coming back. This Eve Online podcast is pretty well-known but I never had a fresh episode with all three hosts to listen to until now. The hosts said that they are reconsidering some things they have done in the past going forward and may begin bringing in experts to help explain some of the new features, like wormholes. The hosts also spent a lot of time apologizing about the length of time they were away.

The hosts themselves said that the good was pretty good until about show 16, so I might go back and listen to the earlier episodes before I try entering Eve. I'm going to give this podcast a listen to in the future just to see where this podcast goes. Length: 40 minutes.

Old Friends

Virgin Worlds #145 (Host: Brent Darren) - Darren Love from The Common Sense Gamer and Shut Up We're Talking podcast hosts VW for the second week in a row and clearly became more comfortable as a solo performer in this episode. Topics included closed beta news, Star Trek and ship combat, Warhammer Online's top 5 priorities, gamers playing more but paying less, Massively.com's beta watch, bridging the East/West divide, and PS3 news. Length: 25 minutes.

Van Hemlock #56 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - In an episode advertised as their least prepared ever, Tim & Jon showed that even without a great deal of preparation they still are better than most podcasters out there. The Twitter question, what MMO mechanic annoys you the most, turned into the main topic of the podcast. For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here. Length: 82 minutes.

Van Hemlock #57 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - The podcast was a news & "what I've played" show with Van Hemlock returning to Planetside in the wake of SOE's announced closing of The Matrix Online. For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here. Length: 105 minutes.

No Prisoners, No Mercy #36 (Hosts: Sister Julie and Sister Fran) - Wow! Just wow! They work on about 3 shows at the same time and this time produced a gem, no matter what number episode it is. Where to start? How about with their announcement that they will be doing an interview with Warhammer Online's Paul Barnett in a future episode? Maybe the interview the sister's did with Keen from Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog about WAR's Land of the Dead expansion and other things WAR? How about the sisters dragging Keen into a segment of "Mad as Hell?" Or how about the second hour (yes, second hour) of the podcast and the interview with Saylah from Mystic Worlds about Runes of Magic? With the split in the podcast, I was able to listen to the first part on the train ride to work and the second part on the train ride home.

One further thing about the podcast. As regular listeners know, the sisters stop the recording of the podcasts at frequent intervals in order to save their work and not have an epic loss of content. Sister Julie took the opportunity of the breaks during the second hour to insert some old music with a magic theme to it. I may be showing my age once you listen to it, but I found it very enjoyable collection of musical snippets. Length: 118 minutes.

The Instance #150 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - Life (i.e. change) goes on in World of Warcaft as the hosts discuss the changes upcoming in patch 3.2. I listen to the podcast from the perspective of an EverQuest 2 player who reached level 60 in Vanilla WoW and I have to say listening to this podcast does make me feel good. Having copied dual-spec from EQ2, Blizzard is going to introduce the level-locking mechanic in the next patch. If WoW is still copying features from EQ2, then my favorite game can't be that bad. Level-locking makes sense in EQ2, but I don't know about WoW. I think Scott and Randy did a good job during that discussion. And of course, don't forget to listen to the end to hear the content from the regular contributors. Length: 114 minutes.

Channel Massive #92 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - Jason returns to the podcast as the M Team discussed FreeRealms and E3. Noah shares some of his experiences from the conference during the one-hour "E3 round table of death." And of course, much discussion about the people protesting the making of Left 4 Dead 2. Length: 116 minutes.

Spouse Aggro #80 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - The Turkey's visit an Italian restaurant and talk about Beau's experience in Darkfall and Aion.. The Turkey's had strong views about Darkfall before. I don't think those have changed even though Beau did say some nice things about the game. Oh, and they talked about a movie about LARPers. Length: 47 minutes.

Through the Aftermath #12 (Hosts: Shawn Schuster and Jonathan Morris) - The hosts go through their email in a far-ranging show about the post-apocolypic genre. Length: 85 minutes.

Trying to Catch Up

EQ2's-day Originally Broadcast on June 2, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - Dellmon posted 3 shows in a week and I'm a little behind listening to the show. In this show, Dellmon goes off on Free Realms (he's addicted) and Zanadi discusses the differences between her monk and assassin now that Zanadi's assassin has beaten Dellmon's sorry troubadour to level 80. Length: 83 minutes.

What I've Been Listening To: June 14-20, 2009

Last week saw the launch of EverQuest 2's Game Update 52. The sad fact is that aside from doing the quests to get access to Kurn's Tower and the new live event involving mushroom rings, I haven't done any of the new content. At least I made it to the research assistant to start upgrading my combat arts.

A look at my site traffic shows that people using the search term "eq2 research assistant" are driving high amounts of traffic to the blog. Okay, not Tobold-type traffic, but high traffic for me. And while I haven't played EQ2 as much as I would like, I've still been able to blog and listen to podcasts.

Here is what I listened to last week.

First Time Listen

In-Game Chat, The No Balls Episode - Last week I wrote that I'm not really into podcasts about console games, and I think the In-Game Chat podcast just confirmed that view. The podcast is a weekly (I think) podcast about console games. I really couldn't get into the podcast because unlike the other podcasts I listen to, I didn't hear any talk about MMOs. To be fair, I stopped listening to the podcast after the first hour, so the podcast could have gotten better during the second hour.

The In-Game Chat podcast is a long-running podcast dating back to January 2006 that should have an adult rating due to language. It tends to run long (The No Balls Episode ran almost 2 hours). If you like console games, you might want to at least listen to an episode and come to your own conclusions. But if you are looking for a strictly MMO podcast, this is not a podcast for you.

Old Friends

Virgin Worlds #144 (Host: Not Brent) - Darren Love from Shut Up We're Talking and The Common Sense Gamer is the substitute host for this short edition of the Virgin Worlds podcast. I liked his point that EverQuest 2's research assistant sounds so much like Eve Online's time-based skill system. I've thought that, but Darren plays Eve, so his opinion counts for more.

Shut Up We're Talking #49 (Hosts: Darren and Karen) - The guests for this episode were Marty from Bullet Points Blog and Gary (Ardwulf) from Ardwulf's Lair. The two topics for the podcast were Dungeon & Dragons Online going to a free-to-play model and Gary's analysis of the player numbers on XFire. A very interesting podcast for those interested in the near term future of MMOs.

Van Hemlock #55 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - Episode 55 is the E3 special, with the news segment dominated by E3 news. After reading all the major announcements, Tim & Jon came to the sad conclusion that the lack of MMORPG news means that MMO's, despite the recent success of Free Realms, are not mainstream.

If you find the E3 news boring, don't worry, because the normal format follows. If you really want to, just fast forward until you hear Tim & Jon read listener email. Yes, this week there is a listener email segment, and both emails concerned Eve Online. For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here.

The Instance #149 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - In this episode, travel takes center stage as not only is Blizzard making travel easier for lower level toons but Gerp now has a hog. In addition to the quick fire question segment and the content from the regular contributors, Scott and Randy discussed WoW's servers getting their own Twitter accounts, the upcoming new battleground, a site designed to help keep players healthy, and more reaction about the use of the Recount mod.

Channel Massive #90 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - Jason is absent as Noah and Mark are joined by Phil, a restro druid from World of Warcraft to speak about the state of WoW and other things.

Channel Massive #91 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - Jason is absent for a second show as Mark and Noah talked about Jumpgate, Free Realms, and Age of Conan. The podcast is still funny without Jason, but I can't wait until Jason's vision quest is over.

Spouse Aggro #79 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - In this episode the Turkeys go to a Cracker Barrel and examine the question about adults playing MMOs. For me, the subject doesn't matter so much as long as its Beau and Leala talking.

Through the Aftermath #12 (Hosts: Shawn Schuster & Jonathan Morris) - Shawn and Jonathan have their second email show as they try to catch up on their email.

Trying To Catch Up With

PODDED Podcast Season 2 Episode 5 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - I don't want to jump ahead of the podcasts, so I'm taking them in order. Topics include the upcoming Alliance Tournament, factional warfare, and Dillon's lesson that flying a stealth bomber doesn't mean you can't use TeamSpeak.

What I've Been Listening To: June 7-13, 2009

Yikes! I only listened to 3 podcasts last week? No wonder I was in such a bad mood. Podcasts are one of those things that helps me take my mind away from work, along with reading and playing EverQuest 2. Looking back, I didn't do any podcast listening on the train going to and from work. Instead, I was thinking about what I was either going to do at work or what had happened at work during the day. Ugh!

But enough whining about wasted time. Here's what I did (or wanted to) listen to last week.

(Almost) First Time Listen

Gamers With Jobs Conference Call #139 - I was going to listen to this podcast not only because I have heard it referenced favorably in a couple of podcasts, but because Michael Zenke was making a return appearance. The fact that the discussion was about E3 was a bonus. I believe the GWJ Conference Call is usually focused on console and non-MMORPG PC games so it is something I normally wouldn't listen to. But the purpose of this segment is to force me to expand my horizons.

Old Friends

The Instance #148 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - The premier World of Warcraft podcast covered the first kill of Algalon and the guilds who try to gain world and server firsts, druid skin changes, Activision/Blizzard's press conference at E3, and a gold seller's unique method of advertising. Don't forget all the additional content provided from contributors. I am really becoming a fan of Steve "Buxley" Pietrowicz.

Free Game Podcast #20 (Hosts: Riknas and Andras) - Riknas and Andras are back with lots of F2P news and a review of Crowns of Power.


Massively Speaking #56 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - In this episode Shawn is joined by WoW.com's Mike Schramm as they review their time at this year's E3 conference. Shawn gives Mike a lot of air time as Mike got a little excited about the upcoming games for this year and beyond. When a major game conference like E3 or GDC comes around, I usually try to listen to Massively Speaking before listening to the other podcasts, unless Brent comes out with a Virgin Worlds podcast first.

Partially Listened To

Van Hemlock #55 (Hosts: Tim Dale & Jon Shute) - A week go by without mentioning Van Hemlock? Like that would ever happen. I would have finished listening to this 1 hour 40 minute podcast but real life got in the way and I had to make some money instead.

Episode 55 is an E3 special with Jon informing Tim of all the events that Tim didn't hear about, which seems to be everything. That E3-proof bunker under the hills of England that Tim was hiding in was pretty effective.

What I've Been Listening To: May 31 - June 6, 2009

I think I finally caught up with my podcast listening last week. I'm now encountering another problem. How do I keep everything straight? My memory is slipping and I'm not sure I captured everything correctly. I'm going to have to start carrying around a notebook in order to make sure I don't miss any of the highlights.

Here is what I listened to last week.

First Time Listen

PODDED Podcast Season 2 Episode 3 and Episode 4 (Hosts: Dillon Arklight and War Childe) - I heard that the Eve Online-based PODDED Podcast was back up and running after a long hiatus, so I headed over to the site to check it out. The lastest episode of the PODDED Podcast is episode 5, but I was intrigued by the show notes for episode 3. Five motherships destroyed in a single fleet action? I don't play Eve myself, but I've heard enough to know that is a lot of motherships.

I think the hosts are aiming for what I think of as the BBC-style of news presentation. I think that style works well when talking about game updates and dev blogs, but I don't like that style when talking about fleet actions. I liked the excitement that crept in when Dillon described the fleet action in which a first-time fleet commander made the decisions that led to the destruction of 5 enemy motherships and a carrier.

I liked episode 3 enough that I downloaded episode 4. In episode 4 the hosts talked about a major capital ship battle between the Northern Coalition vs. WTF involving up to 1000 pilots and a battle between corporations who just recently had been alliance mates.

I've been looking for a good Eve podcast to listen to and I think I've finally found it. The major difference between this podcast and others I've listened to is how the hosts describe the space combat. I think PODDED is geared toward a more general audience while a podcast like Fly Reckless is more geared toward Eve players.

Old Friends

Shut Up We're Talking #48 (Hosts: Darrin & Karen) - This episode came out a bit late, but that's about all I have bad to say about it. The guests were Jonathan from Through the Aftermath and Randolph from Grinding to Valhalla. The topics discussed were the demise of The Matrix Online and what it means for the Sony Station Access concept and a revisit of the avatar discussion from episode #47.

The show ended with Randolph asking questions of Darrin, Karen, and Jonathan somewhat similar to what he asks on his blog. After listening to Randolph's segment, I think podcasters should not only take part in the Valhalla project but invite him as a guest if it doesn't break the format of a podcast.

Van Hemlock #52 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - My favorite podcasters from across the pond produced another news/what we've played podcast, with the twitter question being "L44 in CoH and the end is in sight! Which MMOs, if any, have you level capped in and what happened next?" For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here.

Van Hemlock #54 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - The show begins with Tim proclaiming that the closing of The Matrix Online is not his fault since he never played the game. From there the hosts run through both console and MMO news, with an amusing detour to Goonswarm research in Eve Online. Episode #54 was a topic show, and the topic was SecureROM and other anti-piracy software that makes playing games harder for the honest gamer. The twitter question was "Which new MMOs are you waiting for and how patient are you?" For Van Hemlock's take on the show, click here.

The Instance #147 (Hosts: Scott Johnson and Randy Jordan) - More news and entertainment from Scott & Randy. I just have to say I liked Scott and Randy's response to the listener who wrote in about wanting to use a power leveling service because leveling in World of Warcraft is too hard.

Spouse Aggro #77 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - In episode 77 the Turkeys discuss Beau's return to Vanguard to play the free trial area. At the end, the discussion shifts to Leala's guild engaging in a little role play.

Channel Massive #88 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - I hope the M Team doesn't take offense, but I haven't really noticed a difference in the format since the big format change introduced in episode #86. In other words, the show is amusing to downright funny with some adult language included. And of course, Blog-O-Steria remained! The M Team took aim at statements made by a forum moderator for Star Wars: The Old Republic stating that homosexuality does not exist in the Star Wars universe.

Channel Massive #89 (Hosts: Noah, Jason & Mark) - The M Team + Richard Garriott equals humor. Throw in a discussion of the Darkfall/EuroGamer fight and Tipa's associated rant and I had a podcast I enjoyed listening to.

EQ2's-day Show from May 19, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadai) - Dellmon returned from a work-induced absence to hear Zan tell him about her adventures while he was away. Also find out which character class in Free Realms is based on Dellmon.

What I've Been Listening To: May 24-30, 2009

This week can only be summed up by saying: too much work, not enough podcasts! I really need to get myself an iPod for those occasions when I'm called to jury duty, like happened this week. I actually missed Van Hemlock #52 and went straight to #53. And I'm way behind listening to Channel Massive. Aargh! Well, hopefully I don't get called into work today and I can make up for lost time.

Here's what I listened to last week:

First Time Listen

Inside Azeroth #2 (Hosts: Steve Hamner & David Sanna) - The Grind podcast is dead, long live Inside Azeroth! Okay, I'm being just a touch melodramatic, epecially since I had never heard of The Grind until I heard Leala Turkey plug the World of Warcraft podcast Inside Azeroth on Epic Dolls #66. The Grind's last podcast was May 10th, with two of the hosts, Steve Hamner & David Sanna, continuing on with this new podcast on May 17th.

From listening to the hosts talk about the podcast, the language will be more explicit than that on The Grind. No bleeping out of bad words, that is. That is probably a wise decision, since the hosts have some strong opinions and not censoring the language will help shorten the editing process. Not that the podcast is laced with expletives, but Steve and David are not Blizzard fanbois and sometimes their frustration with some of the things they see occurring comes through.

Content wise, Inside Azeroth is following the very familiar format of talking about WoW news and changes occurring in the game. For those who appreciate good show notes, the show's website contains a pretty well put together set of show notes for each show.

I'm always hesitant about passing judgement on a podcast that has put out less than 5 shows, even if they are experienced podcasters like Steve and David. So at this point I will say that I liked the podcast and that I expect that listening to the show grow should be an enjoyable experience. Unless, of course, you are a WoW fanboi. Then I don't think this podcast is for you.

Old Friends

Van Hemlock #53 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - This episode's guest was Matt from the Limited Edition podcast. Yes, another blogger/podcaster who's playing Eve! And Matt was more than willing to join Jon in the weekly Sony bashing. I don't play console games, so I'm not sure why the PS3 brings out such feelings. Maybe it's a British thing? I know that Jon's idea of sending the fleet back to Iceland to take CCP and Eve away surely was. Takes game piracy to a new level.

The three wander through the week's news and ask listeners "What would you bring to the post of community manager of Hello Kitty Online?" Matt fit into the mix fairly well, but even Tim is wondering about the use of guests. I'd say don't do it all the time. But then again, I always want more Van Hemlock.

Epic Dolls #66 (Hosts: Leala Turkey and Katerina) - The hosts talk about patches 3.1.2 and the upcoming 3.2 as well as starting a new series on in-game relationships. I've found that the Dolls' previous series were good and I believe this series got off to a good start.

Massively Speaking #54 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - Shawn conducted an interview with Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan and Craig Morrison to talk about Age of Conan. Shawn admitted on the Virgin World site that he was trying something new when conducting the interview. He says he won't make the same mistake again. Maybe I'd feel differently if I played AoC, but if you haven't listened to this episode yet, don't waste your time.

Massively Speaking #55 (Host: Shawn Schuster) - Shawn got the podcast back on track with episode #55 and his guest host, Massively.com blogger Lesley Smith. I liked the interplay between the two as they discussed WoW, LotRO, Guild Wars, Jumpgate Evolution and Fallen Earth. We need more Lesley!

Through the Aftermath #11 (Hosts: Shawn Schuster & Jonathan Morris) - The hosts bring in Jonathan's friend Rob to explore what to do when the zombie apocolyps hits. Many "practical" examples are provided, most of them humorous.

Star Wars Galaxies with Yivvits and MrBubble (Hosts: Yivvits & MrBubble) - I like the humor on the show, and given the announcement of SOE shutting down The Matrix Online this week, I really wanted to listen to a podcast based on one of the weaker games on the Sony Station Access pass. The talk about server merges also brought to mind EQ2's upcoming merger of the PvP servers.

And Last But Not Least

EQ2's-Day Show from April 28, 2009 (Hosts: Dellmon & Zanadi) - I almost forgot that Dellmon finally posted the show from April 28th. Among other subjects, find out what happens when 2 ratonga choose to pickpocket a God's avatar.

What I've Been Listening To: May 17-23, 2009

Here in the 'States we are celebrating the Memorial Day weekend. Celebrating is a term that seems a bit strange considering that the purpose of the holiday is to remember those who have died during our many wars. Hopefully those on both sides of the political debates in this country can put aside their differences and just remember and honor those who paid the highest price in the service to their country.

Here is what I've been listening to over the past week.

"First Time" Listen

SOE Official Podcast #62 (Hosts: Alan "Brenlo" Crosby & Aimee "Ashley" Rekoske) - I've put "first time" in quotes because this is not the first time I've listened to the official podcast put out by Sony Online Entertainment, but I haven't listened to the podcast over the past few months. Now seemed a good time since the host, Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, recently made the move from head of SOE's community relations team to Senior Producer of EverQuest2.

The SOE podcast covers all of SOE's wide range of MMORPG's, from EverQuest & FreeRealms to the Matrix Online and Planetside. As expected, the hosts put a positive spin on all things SOE. If listeners take that into account, the podcast can be entertaining. The podcast gives all the major SOE news in one place along with one or two interviews with SOE staff. Recent interview subjects have been Jason "Pex" Ryan (Free Realms Community Manager), Jason "Jaskell" Haskell (Star Wars Galaxies Associate Game Developer) and Josh "Autenil" Kriegshauser (Technical Director for EQ2).

Besides news, the hosts try to keep the podcast light, with recurring characters like The Grumpy Old Gamer, The Love Doctor, and server hamsters making frequent appearances. The server hamsters have gained quite a following with podcast 62 bringing in the introduction of a love triangle (or more likely a "Fatal Attraction") to the SOE server hamster community. Another thing the podcast is famous for is the hosts slurping of coffee. What was a small joke and complaint early on has turned into a full-fledged feature on the podcast.

For those interested in any of SOE's games, this podcast should be a regular download.


Old Friends

Van Hemlock #51 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - The podcast went on the road to KIASACon '09 where their guests were Mike and James from Killed in a Smiling Accident. The conversation centered around game reviews, abusing the City of Heroes Mission Architect system and perhaps the last Tabula Rosa news we will ever hear. Wait, that would assume either 1) Richard Garriott will shut up or 2) that Jon will ignore the noise even if it amuses him. I think the answer is "no" to both questions.

Free Play Podcast #19 (Hosts: Riknas & Andras) - The game reviewed this episode was Runes of Magic. Having played the game to level 15 scout/15 rogue, I have to say this was a great review as well as a great podcast. The hosts looked at some aspects of the game in a way I wouldn't, and I liked the results.

The Instance #145 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - The hosts of the World of Warcraft podcast discussed in-game issues like the arrival of Outfit Manager, vehicles, and the Lake Wintergrasp daily quests now only being weekly quests. Out of game issues included WoW-related applications disappearing from the iTunes store and a web comic in Germany pulling the comic from its website. And don't forget to listen through to the end for all the contributor content.

The Instance #146 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - The hosts followed up on a couple of items discussed on episode 145, discussed trying to get BlizzCon tickets and actually told people to go to the official forums. And as always, the lightning round of questions is good.

In case you can't tell, I suffered a bit from The Instance overload as I tried to catch up on that podcast.

Spouse Aggro #76 (Hosts: Beau and Leala Turkey) - The Turkey's have switched up the format and are eating dinner, not breakfast, during the podcast. The main topic was avatars in games and what they may or may not represent about the players behind the pixels.

What I've Been Listening To: April 19-25, 2009

Sometimes listening to podcasts comes in handy. At work this week, the programmer who introduced me to World of Warcraft told me he let his account expire because he was going back to City of Heroes. I immediately knew from listening to podcasts like Van Hemlock #47, Virgin Worlds #143 and Massively Speaking #49 that he was interested in the mission architect feature. Maybe I just work in the right place, but we have a lot of people at work who play MMORPGs (mostly WoW) and it's nice to be able to talk about games with everyone.

Here is what I've listened to over the past week.

Virgin Worlds #143 (Host: Brent) - Brent is back with a 30 minute podcast after last episode's marathon coverage of the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. Brent talks about the City of Heroes mission architect, Love, more moves at Linden Labs, StarGate Worlds, the Eve Online expansion, Fallen Earth's upcoming rating, World of Warcraft in China, Paragon Games, and more. If you can't listen to a lot of podcasts but want to keep up with the news, this is a good one to listen to.

Van Hemlock #48 (Hosts: Tim Dale and Jon Shute) - Episode #48 found our intrepid podcasters talking about the upcoming closure of Shadowbane, upgrades in the U.K.'s internet infrastructure, another news outlet shutting down its Second Life bureau and more Jack Thompson news. In talking about Shadowbane, Jon came up with the term "PvP tourist" to describe one of the possible reasons for the games closure.

For the every-other-show topic, the hosts discussed regional servers and why regional servers are needed in on-line games. The discussion delves deeper into the subject than ping times and probably will introduce American listeners to topics that those in the European Union take for granted.

The twitter question of the week was about seasonal holiday's in games and which ones are the best.

Massively Speaking #49 (Host: Shawn Schuester) - Kyle Horner makes his second appearance on Massively Speaking. Shawn and Kyle discuss the MMO market in China, Darkfall, D&D Online, Fallen Earth, and the City of Heroes mission architect. Kyle was extremely excited about using the mission architect and if it is everything Kyle says, may keep CoH/CoV a viable game in the face of the upcoming games like Champions Online and DC Universe.

The Instance #142 (Hosts: Scott Johnson & Randy Jordan) - Would you believe the dog ate my notes? Okay, I was tired and just sat back on the train and listened to the premier World of Warcraft on the Interwebs. I do remember a discussion about Patch 3.1 and how Curse and WoWInterface are fighting back against WoWMatrix. Oh, and did I forget to mention that Turpster was on? Please guys, let's just call them fanny packs. The conversation was definitely not workplace safe.

Epic Dolls #64 (Hosts: Leala Turkey and Katerina) - Leala and Kat give their take on WoW's Patch 3.1 and I discovered that, among other things, planning raids for the first two days after the patch went live was not a good idea. The pair answered listener mail about fashion and fishing before Leala began a discussion about a blog post by Ralph Kostner about the way people play games. In episodes 62 & 63 Leala and Kat's discussion about WoW guilds transcended the game. In this episode the Dolls show they can discuss general concepts and relate them to WoW.

EQ2's-day broadcast from April 14 (Hosts: Dellmon and Zanadi) - Once again Dellmon titles a show "Death and Taxes" just because the broadcast day falls around the time everyone's taxes are due in the U.S. Besides talking about how death and taxes are implemented in EverQuest 2, the pair discuss the Lavastorm revamp.